Privacy & Security Brainiacs

What Privacy & Security Brainiacs does

Privacy & Security Brainiacs is a privately held, founder-led education and consulting company established in 2020 and operated through Rebecca Herold, LLC, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The business delivers privacy, information security, cybersecurity, and compliance training and advisory services to organizations across industries, with named emphasis on healthcare covered entities and business associates requiring HIPAA compliance, and to individual consumers. Its core commercial product is a cloud-based online learning platform (powered by LearnWorlds) that delivers animated training courses, webinars, and executive/leader meetings, alongside in-person training, professional consulting (risk assessments, third-party management, policy and procedure development), and one-time downloadable product assets such as policies and risk-assessment templates.

The platform architecture is intentionally lean: third-party LearnWorlds infrastructure hosts courses, user accounts, and learning workflows, with authentication via LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, and X (Twitter) OAuth. The proprietary IP sits in curated content and the founder's expertise — Rebecca Herold holds seven major credentials (CISSP, CISM, CISA, CIPM, CIPP/US, CIPT, FIP), is a NIST SME and Ponemon Distinguished Fellow with 25+ years of experience, and has authored 20 published books plus hundreds of articles. Distribution is augmented by a multi-channel content ecosystem: a blog, the monthly Privacy Professor Tips newsletter (running since 2009), free eBooks, infographics, documents, phishing awareness recordings, and the VoiceAmerica radio/podcast show "Data Security and Privacy with the Privacy Professor."

The business model combines subscription-based recurring revenue from online courses, professional-services fees from consulting engagements, and one-time product/license fees for downloadable compliance assets. Go-to-market is a hybrid model: product-led growth via the self-serve LearnWorlds storefront targeting individuals and SMBs, paired with direct enterprise sales for consulting and in-person training. Marketing is content-led and primarily organic, relying on the established "Privacy Professor" personal brand rather than paid acquisition. Notable commercial relationships include strategic partnerships with SafeGuard Privacy (which licenses PSB's HIPAA policies and refers clients for consulting) and with Atsign (a decentralized networking/security vendor), but no named enterprise customers, no external funding, and no disclosed revenue figures were identified, signaling an early-stage, founder-capitalized operating profile.

Name

Privacy & Security Brainiacs

Legal name

Rebecca Herold, LLC

Website

https://privacysecuritybrainiacs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Privacy & Security Brainiacs provides privacy, cybersecurity, and compliance education and tools — animated online courses via a LearnWorlds e-learning platform, consulting, and downloadable products — primarily to organizations (with HIPAA-focused healthcare offerings) and individual consumers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Privacy & Cybersecurity Compliance Training

NAICS

Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDABAGAD

Data Protection, Privacy & Information Handling (PII/PHI/PCI) Training

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Cybersecurity Awareness & Secure Practices Training

SECONDARYEDABAGAO

Fraud Prevention & Identity Theft / Account Takeover Awareness

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Cybersecurity Awareness & Secure Practices Training

Keywords

• Privacy compliance training
• Cybersecurity education
• HIPAA compliance courses
• Risk assessment consulting
• Information security training

Headquarters

HQ city

Des Moines

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Online Courses & Training: Revenue from engaging animated training courses delivered through the proprietary e-learning platform. Includes online courses, webinars, and online executive/leader meetings covering privacy, cybersecurity, and compliance topics.
2. Consulting Services: Personalized consulting services for organizations requiring privacy, information security, cybersecurity, and compliance guidance.
3. Products (Policies, Risk Assessments, Third-Party Management): Sale of pre-built products including policies and procedures, risk assessments, and third-party management materials for compliance needs.
4. In-Person Classes: In-person training classes for organizations requiring hands-on education on privacy and security topics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Privacy & Security Brainiacs provides privacy, information security, cybersecurity, and compliance education services and products for organizations and individuals worldwide. Its core offerings include animated online training courses delivered through a proprietary e-learning platform, in-person training classes, webinars, executive/leader meetings, personalized consulting, and downloadable compliance products such as policies and procedures, risk assessments, and third-party management materials.

Product overview

Privacy & Security Brainiacs is a cloud-based education and consulting platform founded in 2020, co-founded by Rebecca Herold (also founder of The Privacy Professor consultancy established in 2004). The company operates a unified e-learning platform (powered by LearnWorlds) that delivers animated training courses for privacy, information security, cybersecurity, and compliance education. The core offering includes online courses (such as HIPAA Basics for Business Associates and Secure Coding), supplemented by free resources including eBooks, infographics, documents, and the Privacy Professor Radio podcast. The company also provides consulting services for organizations seeking risk assessments, third-party management, and policy development. The platform supports user authentication via LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, and X (Twitter) OAuth integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Privacy & Security Brainiacs Online Learning Platform A cloud-based e-learning platform delivering engaging animated training courses for privacy, information security, cybersecurity, and compliance education through online courses, webinars, and executive leader meetings. Targets organizations and individuals worldwide.
• HIPAA Basics for Business Associates 2025 Edition Course An online animated course focused on helping HIPAA business associates understand and comply with HIPAA requirements, updated for 2025 regulations.
• Secure Coding Course An in-depth online course on secure coding practices, authored by Dr. M.E. Kabay, focused on database management and security for operations in the era of cyberspace.
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Compliance Consulting Services Personalized consulting services for organizations requiring privacy, information security, cybersecurity, and compliance guidance, including risk assessments, third-party management, and policy and procedure development.
• Pre-built Compliance Products (Policies, Risk Assessments, Third-Party Management) Pre-built downloadable compliance products including policies and procedures, risk assessments, and third-party management materials designed to help organizations operationalize privacy, information security, and compliance programs.
• In-Person Privacy and Security Training Classes In-person training classes for organizations requiring hands-on, instructor-led education on privacy, information security, cybersecurity, and compliance topics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations receive comprehensive compliance support covering HIPAA, GDPR, and international privacy/security regulations

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SafeGuard PrivacycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSafeGuard Privacy is a next-generation Privacy Compliance Platform that automates the assessment of both company and vendor compliance with privacy laws. They utilize Privacy & Security Brainiacs HIPAA security and privacy policies, procedures, and forms, in addition to providing consulting to their clients.
• AtsignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAtsign is a globally distributed company offering fully decentralized end-to-end encryption and other networking tools, including SSH No Ports. Their patented award-winning technology has been successfully pen tested, is open source, and makes firewalls and VPNs unnecessary. Atsign works with Privacy & Security Brainiacs to further privacy and security education and offer compliance consulting to Atsign clients.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cybrary: Online cybersecurity and IT skills training platform with self-serve courses and enterprise tiers. Directly comparable to Brainiacs' LearnWorlds-based e-learning model, targeting individuals and enterprise security teams.
• KnowBe4: Largest dedicated security awareness and phishing simulation training platform, serving enterprises and SMBs globally. Closest direct competitor to Brainiacs' privacy/security awareness training offering, with substantially more scale and capital.
• Terranova Security: Security awareness and phishing simulation training provider focused on privacy and compliance topics including GDPR. Closely comparable to Brainiacs in content scope and target buyer (compliance-driven organizations).
• Infosec Institute: Cybersecurity training provider offering bootcamps, certifications, and enterprise security awareness programs. Competes with Brainiacs in both individual learner and enterprise compliance training segments.

Broad incumbents

• SANS Institute: Long-established cybersecurity training and certification organization offering courses, GIAC certifications, and security awareness content. Overlaps with Brainiacs in privacy/security training but operates at much broader scale and across more verticals.
• Proofpoint Security Awareness: Security awareness training offering within Proofpoint's broader cybersecurity platform for enterprise customers. Competes with Brainiacs in enterprise privacy/security awareness but as part of a much larger threat-protection portfolio.

Emerging players

• NINJIO: Security awareness training provider producing short, animated episodes on cybersecurity topics for enterprise employees. Direct overlap with Brainiacs' animated e-learning approach but targeted at the enterprise compliance buyer.
• Hoxhunt: Enterprise security behavior change and phishing simulation platform using gamified, personalized training. Overlaps with Brainiacs' awareness-training segment but emphasizes adaptive, data-driven delivery at enterprise scale.
• Security Journey: Secure coding and application security training platform with role-based learning paths. Comparable to Brainiacs' 'Secure Coding Course' offering but focused more narrowly on developer upskilling.

Others

• SafeGuard Privacy: Privacy compliance automation platform and Brainiacs' distribution partner, reselling Brainiacs' HIPAA policies and consulting services. Adjacent (rather than competing) — operates as a channel partner and ecosystem participant.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@PrivacyProfessor
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/privacy-and-security-brainiacs
• Xx.com/psbrainiacs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Privacy & Security Brainiacs